Leaders of Coventry's business community have found out what a difference a year can make to a city.

The Coventry branch council of the Chamber of Commerce held an open meeting to discuss the city's image last December and decided to monitor the changes over the next 12 months.

And, at the update, 11 speakers from the private and public sectors outlined advances in and around the city centre.

Branch council chairman Peter Burns said the city had moved on beyond all recognition and that the business community had to maintain the momentum.

He said: "The welfare of the city is vital to us as business people

and residents of Coventry. If the city is seen as successful that can rub off on us and on the workforce in general.

"I think last year everyone was rightly concerned with the image and direction of the city. We heard from many people that some projects were in their infancy so we decided to reconvene to assess the progress in the intervening 12 months.

"What we heard was amazing. The Phoenix Initiative is now open - and opened by a Coventry winner Neil Back - the new super hospital is taking shape quickly and quite stunningly, the plans for Bond Street have been unveiled, the Arena is going ahead, consultation on the Swanswell area of the city is ongoing, the Belgrade extension is well under way and there have been a stream of successes partly engineered by CV One.

"This is a long haul but there is undoubtedly a common will to succeed for the city and we will only do that with a far-sighted approach and real determination.

"There were, even 12 months ago, a number of people who doubted that some of the projects which are now coming to fruition would succeed. If a year can make this much difference, then the change that can be implemented over a decade could be incredible.

"One thing became abundantly clear through the evening. The people who tend to talk the city down are those who have not been here for a while and it is imperative that we bring them back and attract new people.

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"Many of our speakers said that their guests coming to the city for the first time were very impressed and that the reality far exceeded perception.

"I thought I knew most things about the city until this meeting but I learned so much. There is a great deal to celebrate and we are only talking about the tip of the iceberg - there is so much more to come."